Ravi Varma Press, Lonavala

Místo: Lonavala

Životopis:

The Ravi Varma Press, also known as the Lonavla Press, was a printing press established in 1894 in Lonavla, India. It was founded by the renowned Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma, who used the press to mass-produce his chromolithographs. The press was immediately shifted to Malavli near Lonavla, but was commonly known as the Lonavla Press. The proprietorship was bestowed on the ever devoted brother, since Ravi Varma passed away in 1906. The press was one of the earliest in India to use large-scale printing technologies, and the first to mass-produce works of an eminent and established artist. The press produced a wide range of Ravi Varma's paintings, including religious depictions of Hindu deities and works from Indian epic poetry and Puranas. The press was instrumental in democratizing art in India, making fine arts accessible to the common people and defining artistic tastes among them. The press was operational until 1972, and its legacy continues to be celebrated through the Ganesh Shivaswamy Foundation, established in 2019, and the Raja Ravi Varma Press Museum at the Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village, Manipal.